England all but secured their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after holding on for a 3-2 win over Uruguay in La Plata, Argentina, on Thursday.
Tottenham midfielder Alfie Devine had a hand in both goals as England took a 2-0 lead going into half-time. First, Devine’s corner set up Bashir Humphreys to head in from six yards in the 22nd minute before he scored himself with a low drive in first-half stoppage time.
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But Uruguay refused to go down without a fight and deservedly hit back at the start of the second half when Franco Gonzalez’s finish on the rebound was allowed to stand following a review form the Video Assistant Referee, having initially been ruled out for offside.
Having halted their opponents’ momentum, England scored a fine third goal through Leeds United’s Darko Gyabi in the fifth minute of added time.
There was still time for Matias Abaldo to pull a goal back for Uruguay after another rebound from a shot that goalkeeper Matthew Cox should arguably have done better with but it was not enough to prevent Ian Foster’s side from making it two wins from two.
England, who beat Tunisia in their opening game, lead Group A with six points, ahead of Uruguay on three. Tunisia and Iraq are both without a point after one game ahead of their matchup later on Thursday.
The top two teams in each group plus the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 16.
England will meet Iraq in their final group game on Sunday.
